Ypres Rally: New Hyundai i20 R5 set for competitive debut

The New Generation i20 R5 will make its first competitive outing next month at the 2016 Ypres Rally on the 23-25 June

The New Generation i20 R5 will make its first competitive outing next month at the 2016 Ypres Rally on the 23-25 June.

Hyundai is aiming to take advantage of the famous Belgian event, the fifth round of the European Rally Championship, to add to its mileage on tarmac. The New Generation i20 R5 has already completed tests on the sealed surface in Europe but the high-speed stages of West Flanders will be a new setting.

The car itself will also be new, with the mechanics at the team's Alzenau headquarters preparing a new chassis for the event. The Customer Racing department's engineers and designers have used the knowledge that they have gained from the previous tests in the building of the car to go to Ypres.

Hyundai Motorsport's development driver Kevin Abbring will be at the wheel of the new car at Ypres, returning to an event that he has competed in four times, twice behind the wheel of an R5 car which will also adopt a new livery.

"The Ypres Rally is a pivotal weekend in the New Generation i20 R5 project," Hyundai customer racing manager, Andrea Adamo said. "The rally is the perfect place for the car to make its public debut. The ERC is a key championship for R5 teams, where we obviously hope our customers will be competing in future.

"It's a big event in the championship, it's a famous one with some great history in an area where people are very knowledgeable about rally. Our time in Ypres, though, remains as much about continuing with our test schedule as it is showing the car at an event.

"The flat, high speed roads of the rally are quite different from the tarmac tests we have done in recent months. This continues our work to have run the car on various types of stage in order to thoroughly prepare the car."